« The Actor’s Vow

By Elia Kazan

I will take my rightful place on stage

and I will be myself.

I am not a cosmic orphan.

I have no reason to be timid.

I will respond as I feel; awkwardly, vulgarly,

But respond.

I will have my throat open,

I will have my heart open,

I will be vulnerable.

I may have anything or everything the world 

Has to offer, but the thing

I need most, and want most, is to be myself.

I will admit rejection, admit pain, admit

Frustration, admit even pettiness, admit 

Shame, admit outrage, admit anything and 

Everything that happens to me.

The best and most human parts of me are 

Those I have inhabited and hidden from 

The world.

I will work on it.

I will raise my voice.

I will be heard. »